"My lord, you must save me! The common people were forced to make a living and helped Zhao Qinghe transport private salt!"
"Transporting smuggled salt?" Everyone was shocked. This was really hard to find, and it took no effort to get it. After struggling for a long time, we finally got the clue.
"What's going on? Tell me in detail."
It turns out that Zhao Qinghe was sent from the capital to Pingchuan County to take charge of water transportation, and Zhao Si was a porter on the water transportation. He often had to go to the dock to load goods. One day, he saw the high prices for porters there and went there. There was a man in this industry. According to industry rules, workers loading and unloading goods are never allowed to ask what is inside.
Zhao Si couldn't help but be curious. When he was resting, he secretly opened a small opening and took a look. It turned out to be refined salt. This full cargo was all refined salt. Logically, all ships would have ferry officials coming forward to check, and this cargo was No one checked from the beginning to the end, and everyone was allowed to go all the way. Who else could do it except Zhao Qinghe, who was in charge of water transportation.
Su Xiaolou sighed: "So that's the case, then how can you be sure that it is Zhao Qinghe's private salt and not another salt merchant who bribed Zhao Qinghe."
"That's an official ship. The common people are at the dock all year round. They can still clearly distinguish an official ship from an ordinary ship. Moreover, the common people accidentally saw Zhao Qinghe and another high official appearing at the dock."
"What did they say?"
"I was too far away to hear clearly. The common people could only vaguely hear them discussing the salt transportation."
"Xiu'er, now that the witnesses and evidence are here, I think we can arrest Zhao Qinghe, and maybe we can find some new clues about the salt transportation."
"Yeah!" Zhen Baihu immediately decided to arrest Zhao Qinghe after dawn.
The fat man looked at the thick smoke that had not dissipated in the house and hurriedly opened the windows and doors to let out the air: "Oh! It seems that no one can sleep in this house tonight."
The blind man joked beside him: "Still sleeping? If you sleep a little longer, you will become a roasted suckling pig."
After the smoke had almost dissipated, everyone tidied up the house.
When it was still dark, the early birds were already chirping and looking for bugs to eat. Everyone who had not slept much all night looked listless with dark circles under their eyes. Su Xiaolou led a few people to build a defense. The fortification is actually to strengthen the wall of the lower courtyard, covering the top of the wall with iron caltrops, finding a lot of familiar wood, nailing the entire windows, and placing several water tanks next to the wall, filled with water, to prevent Fire broke out again.
…
Zhen Dexiu led four or five school lieutenants to Pingchuan County and went straight to the home of Zhao Qinghe, a fellow magistrate of Pingchuan County. It was a large binary courtyard house that was very eye-catching in the whole street. It seemed that Zhao Qinghe Qinghe has made a lot of money over the years.
Zhen Dexiu waited outside for a long time to open the door, and then someone yawned and slowly came to open the door: "Sir, what are you doing?"
"We are looking for your master Zhao Qinghe."
"Then it's really unlucky that you're here. Our master won't be here these two days. Please come back later."
Not here? How could it be such a coincidence? Zhen Dexiu didn't talk nonsense to the servants. He directly pushed away the servants and rushed in with several captains. After searching the house from top to bottom and inside and outside, he found that there were only a few servants in the house. There really is no one else.
Zhen Dexiu grabbed several servants and asked sternly: "Where has your master gone?"
When the servant saw this posture, he thought of the rumors he had heard during this period. Could it be that his master had really committed a crime? Where is it?"
Zhen Dexiu's look proved that the servants were dragged down and beaten violently. After being pulled back with bruises and swollen faces, they all knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
"Sir, please forgive me! We are all servants hired by Zhao Qinghe some time ago. We don't know Zhao Qinghe's whereabouts or what he has done."
"Then when did Zhao Qinghe leave specifically? Did he say anything when he left?"
"Sir, it was one afternoon two days ago. Zhao Qinghe went to the dock for water transportation and never came back."
Zhen Dexiu lowered his eyes and thought. This didn't sound like he was running away, it sounded like he was missing.
Zhen Dexiu went to Pingchuan County Government again. After some inquiries, the county magistrate Zheng Dahai didn't know where Zhao Qinghe had gone. Zhen Dexiu left two lieutenants behind to secretly keep an eye on Qinghe's house and led the rest of the people. Returned to Zhao Si's house.
Su Xiaolou heard that Zhao Qinghe was missing and no one knew where he had gone. It was a bit unbelievable.
According to the Ming Dynasty regulations, officials who leave their posts without permission are not only fined but also punished. In serious cases, they may even be transferred to another position or demoted.
"Is Zhao Qinghe really missing or silenced by someone?"
That's not right! Su Xiaolou asked suspiciously: "If Zhao Qinghe is really missing, who sent the two waves of assassins?"
"Is it possible that the two waves of assassins were not sent by the same person, and their goals are different. The first wave of assassins came for Zhao Si, and the second wave of assassins may come for us."
Su Xiaolou rubbed his chin and thought: "It is indeed possible, but I still think that Zhao Qinghe got wind of something and fled in fear of crime."
Zhen Dexiu looked at Zhao Si, who was lying on the bed half dead and groaning, and was a little worried: "We can't stay here for long. We have to leave here quickly. Can Zhao Si leave now?"
Su Xiaolou shook his head: "The wound on his body is too deep. It will easily break open due to the fatigue of traveling and traveling along the way. It will be even more troublesome for us to find a doctor to save him halfway."
"Then we can only stay here for a few more days."
The fire last night had burned holes in the bedding on the floor in the east and west. It was impossible to sleep. Su Xiaolou could only take people to borrow bedding from neighbors again. Since Su Xiaolou quickly After the method of opening the door became widely circulated, no one saw him closing the door anymore, for fear that his door would not be saved and would have to be repaired again.
Su Xiaorou said gently to a young widow with a delicate appearance: "Sister, do you have extra bedding at your home that you can lend to us? We will return it to you in a few nights. I can also stay at your home for a few nights. It's fine in the street recently. There are many assassins, I can protect you."
The little widow became even more frightened when she heard this, and said solemnly: "No... no need, there are two extra quilts in the room, you...
Take it away! "
"Then thank you, sister. Doesn't sister really think about me?"
The little widow looked frightened and waved her hands quickly: "No need!"
When Su Xiaolou entered the house to move the quilt, he felt something was not right. There seemed to be a hard thing in the quilt. He shook the quilt and heard a "clang" sound. Su Xiaolou, who had quick eyes and quick hands, quickly moved a step away and saw a The ax hit the edge of the bed and fell to the ground, now stuck where he had just stood.
Su Xiaolou touched his chest with lingering fear. Fortunately, he had ducked quickly, otherwise the ax would have been stuck in his foot. The ax was hidden under the quilt. He must be very insecure to do such a thing, but Thinking about it, the little widow lives alone at home, but she is also quite beautiful. There must be many people coveting her. Maybe she has hidden weapons hidden in her body, and she can pull out a knife at any time.
